Tuesday 2 December 2008

A Place to Live

The Goodradigbee River in the Brindabella Valley near Canberra: Real Australia-at least it???s my conception of ??~real??? Australia. The first time I went there I drove in the late afternoon and arrived at night, a couple wombats scurrying down the road in my headlights. I remember one of them had some weird skin disease like scabies on its arse. Poor bugger. We made our camp only to realise after waking in the morning that we???d set up in the middle of someone???s property. Oh well, they didn???t seem to be around.




Driving through the ??~Brindies??? (Brindabella Mountains) you had to be careful of the mad Four-Wheel-Drive ??~Occa??? blokes tearing by in the opposite direction. One side of the extremely thin road was a sheer cliff falling down to gum tree forest. My car was a black Ford Escort panel van, but that???s another story altogether. I loved it when you drove down that bone-dry chalky white road. When I made it back to town there???d always be a fine layer of dust all over the car, and I don???t mean on the outside. The dust seeped through every crack and gap on that two hundred dollar bucket of crap. It wasn???t really that crappy; it almost always got me where I needed to go. I just didn???t always have functional wipers or headlights.




Travelling through the Eucalypt forest I was always overcome with this great feeling of freedom. I remember one time when I suddenly saw two short, black wallabies as dark as night hop out in front of the car. It was in a moist little rainforest-type section of the woods, an anomaly to the usual crispy dry bushfire-fuel undergrowth. I loved the rows and rows of natural gum trees stretching up towards the sky, often blotting it out altogether. No people walking around, no houses, not too many cars; we were away from society. We were home. Nature was where we came from and we were returning; not to visit, but to live, truly live. Not like in the city with all of its inherent human politics, economics, social rules and regulations.




Once we got to the valley, the place to be was the river. It wasn???t a big river, but it was clear, really clear. You could see every pebble and rock through the metre or so deep, slow flowing water. Melted snow came down from the Snowy Mountains via a small tributary creek, which bled into the main river. At the point where the two met is the little waterfall. A deep rock pool sits at its base, which you can jump off and land into safely, perfect for those ultra-hot Aussie summer days. There???s also a rockslide that you could actually slide down into the pool, sometimes face-first if you wanted to impress your friends, which of course I did. At the top of the falls is a tiny little pool that we called the ??~spa???. It was full of flowing water and bubbles like the real thing. The whole place was actually right next to a road, but if you didn???t know it was there, you???d drive right on over the bridge unaware of what lied beneath.




We camped on the bank too, a couple hundred metres up from the falls. Taking fishing rods, we???d catch brown trout and rainbows; cook them right there on a makeshift barbeque. One time we stuck some sausage on a line, as you do when you???re trying to catch yabbies. Up the river came this huge beast of a crayfish. Its white claws were massive, way bigger than my own ??~girly??? fists. My friend picked him up and got his hands all cut up from the spikes on its tail and back. We cooked it in a pot just like a lobster, which in essence is what it was. It was one of the best things I???ve ever eaten in my life. I recall thinking that you could taste the clear river water in its flesh. It was only after we returned to civilisation that I learnt it was an endangered Murray Crayfish, totally illegal to catch. Luckily the second one we saw was smart enough to turn around when it sensed there was something just a little bit too ??~fishy??? about that easy-to-get sausage.




Do you want to know what else was so great about the Goodradigbee? At night you could see more stars than grains of sand on the beach. ??~Shooters??? were always on full display. There weren???t any streetlights for a hundred kilometres. It was like having a look at the Universal neighbourhood of our galaxy and beyond. I felt like I was part of something there; something much more powerful than the world I was brought up in. Each star represented life in all its infinite, magnificent uniqueness. Each one was a streetlight, lighting up the homes of our real world. When I lay on the sandy bank next to the dying light of the fire???s embers looking upwards, I knew for the first time that we were part of something very worthwhile and special.




By Jesse S. Somer Nov. 2008


http:// www.m6.net




Jesse S. Somer is a creative writer working at M6.Net: ??~The web-hosting company for humans.??? M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime. http://www.readmine.com/ is their next step towards fulfilling this goal.


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7 Ways To Save On Fuel And Run Your Vehicle Efficiently

Fuel is a precious commodity and if we do not learn how to conserve we can look forward to a future when fuel supplies run out.




Fuel is a precious commodity and if we do not learn how to conserve we can look forward to a future when fuel supplies run out. As a caring eco-friendly citizen it is important for you to save fuel and learn how to use your vehicle efficiently and reduce the amount of gas you use.




1. Learn how to drive efficiently by avoiding sudden acceleration or braking and aggressive driving. According to stats you can save as much as 33% on freeways and 5% in urban environments on gas by adopting safe driving practices; this in figures means USD 0.12-0.76 per gallon in savings.




2. Always observe the set speed limits. And find out what the optimal fuel economy for your vehicle is. The general consensus is that for every 5mph over 60mph just means spending more of fuel, almost USD 0.20 per gallon.




3. Never resort to using your vehicle as a dumpster or storage space. Imagine an extra 100 pounds in your car will reduce your MPG by over 2%. So, get rid of the junk or store it elsewhere.




4. Idling that is running the engine when stand still wastes fuel. So, think twice before leaving the engine running while you dash into a nearby store.




5. Use cruise control when driving on a freeway. It saves gas and helps the car run at a steady speed.




6. Learn all about overdrive gearing this is an established way to save fuel.




7. Always ensure that the car is well tuned and passes emission tests. This will improve its fuel efficacy by almost 4%. So ship and shape benefits you as the car will last longer and you will save on fuel.




8. Ensure smooth functioning by replacing oil filters regularly and checking the air tube pressure. Cleaning and replacing oil filters will improve fuel efficacy by 10% while gas mileage improves by 3.3 % when the tires are properly inflated.




9. Follow recommendations given by the car manufacturers as far as servicing and replacement of parts is concerned. This will improve the running efficacy of the car.




10. Most of all plan your day so that you don???t make multiple trips in the same direction and waste fuel. Keep a note pad and jot down all errands that need to be done and plan a trip that will cover all bases and save running time as well as fuel.




Other ways in which you can contribute to the fuel economy are by car pooling, taking public transport where it is available, and keeping yourself updated on news releases focusing on fuel saving strategies. When you plan to buy a new car think of investing in a fuel efficient vehicle, in depth information on cars can be read at www.fueleconomy.gov .




Be a caring citizen and work towards saving fuel for future generations. Every drop counts.


Barry Allen is a freelance writer for http://www.1866cars.com , the premier website to find help on Cars including topics on car rental, national car rental, thrifty car rental, online car rental, pickup trucks rental, cargo van rental and more.

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